Rotations Of Life
by Lysaandi
Summary: The Planet has released the hardy souls of FF7 nearly 500 yrs after the game, but on accident. In meaning to give Aeris another chance at life, Sephiroth escaped. So it releases them all, in hopes they'll win. But against who?
1. Conflict Reborn

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7 or characters, but the plot is my own. 

A/N: I came up with this idea in the middle of the night, just to let you know. Anyway, please enjoy this story. The first chapter is a bit short, but the next one should be longer. Besides, this is just to draw you into my lair so you'll never stop reading! ** MWAHAHAHAHA!!!! ** Heh heh... Just kidding. Enjoy.   
  
Oh, this takes place about a hundred years or so AFTER Final Fantasy 7, but you'll see more as you go along.   
  
------------  
  
**Rotations Of Life  
Chapter 1:  
Conflict Reborn**  
  
-----------  
  
_Let her go. You've held her long enough._  
  
**No! She's mine. She gave herself to me.**  
  
_She gave up everything she had to save you. At least her have her chance._  
  
**All right. ** It opened the passage for her, albeit grudgingly. ** No! Not you!**  
  
_What is it?_  
  
**_He_ got out. **  
  
_Block them. They must be born at the right time. But,_ Ifalna gave a sigh, _let them all go then. They will be needed. _  
  
**All?**  
  
_All. Even though some do not deserve this chance. _  
  
The Planet agreed, but released them. After all, they would return to it sooner or later.   
  
------------  
  
The President of the newfound company of ShinRa smiled as his wife showed him her firstborn child: A son.   
  
A man of twenty looked upon the new lab that had been built for his experiments with satisfaction. He beckoned to the woman who held her three-year-old son's hand and she brought him forward. The man placed the child upon the table and motioned the guards to take the woman away. The boy looked at him in confusion as he noticed his mother was gone, and then hid the fear he felt at the sight of the unknown; the man was holding a needle. The boy shook his small head in protest, his ear length silver hair flinging wildly. But he did not flinch or scream as the needle filled with Mako pierced his skin.  
  
Two neighboring women cooed over their new babies, a boy and girl, the boy older by a week. Peach fuzz took the place of hair, but couldn't hide the richness of the colors. Brunette and blonde; night and day; girl and boy.   
  
A mother placed her year-old son in a basket at the doorstep of an orphanage. A young boy of eight opened the door to the cries and took him inside, passing a boy of three, who was just learning to walk.   
  
In two years, a woman would give birth to a girl whose eyes were the color of emeralds. In five, another girl would be born, small for her age, with black hair.   
  
The heroes would roam the world again.  
  
----------------  
  
A/N: Well, what did you think? I wonder if any of you can figure out who any of these people are, hmmm? No need to guess whom the silver haired boy was; that speaks for itself. Review please!!!!   
  
Lysaandi 


	2. SOLDIER

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7.  
  
A/N: If you haven't already guessed, all the important people from FF7 were just reborn in the last chapter. Out of fairness, although they most likely would be named other names by this point, I'm just going to name them the names they had in FF7, to save us all the confusion. If you do want to know what I would have named them otherwise, just email me, and I'll send the names to you. All right! Enough said. On with the chapter.   
  
-------------  
  
**Rotations Of Life  
Chapter 2:  
SOLDIER  
  
**  
  
----------  
  
** Twelve years later**  
  
-------------  
  
The young captain smiled inwardly as they neared the town of Nibelheim. This was the perfect opportunity to find new recruits. They started training at the age of twelve at the latest, ten at the earliest. He, of course, had started since he was three. He was proud of his strength, one of the few displays or feelings of emotions that he ever had. His bright blue-green eyes surveyed the town as they entered. Not too shabby, but it was nothing like Midgar. He paid no attention to the commander as he gave instructions, but then, no one expected him to. He was Sephiroth, stronger than any of them, and they knew he already had expert knowledge at strategic drills anyway.   
  
He picked a single ball of dust that had dared to stray onto his black outfit and ground it beneath his boot. It wouldn't try that again. His hair immaculate, he strode down one of the back roads towards the houses, knowing he would find boys there. He rounded the corner and was knocked back as someone with blonde spiky hair came catapulting towards him.   
  
"Sorry!" the boy said quickly and glanced over his shoulder nervously.   
  
"What was that for?" Sephiroth asked, his voice cold and disapproving.   
  
".........."  
  
Sephiroth looked behind the boy to see a girl of about the same age running towards them, shaking her fist angrily. Her brown hair whipped her face and back as it started to fall out of her ponytail. Sephiroth watched the boy's face grow pale as he saw her coming with amusement.   
  
"You were running from a girl?" It was more of a statement than a question.   
  
"You don't know Tifa. Please move!" he said as he saw her grow closer.   
  
The fifteen-year-old Sephiroth moved slightly to his right, and the boy went to leave, but he grabbed his arm and held him there.   
  
"Hey!" the boy struggled to free himself but failed; Sephiroth's grip was like a vice.   
  
"Cloud! I am going to _kill_ you! You'd better hope that guy lets you go or you're dead meat!" she skidded to a halt near them and faced Sephiroth. "Thanks for catching hi—hey!" Sephiroth grabbed her arm as well and held them both at arm's length of each other.  
  
"Why were you chasing after him?" he asked curiously, his bright blue-green eyes glittering in the sunlight.   
  
"He stole my Materia!" Tifa yelled. "And then lost it!"  
  
"No I didn't! Well, I did borrow it, but I gave it back!"  
  
"And all this because of one Materia? Could you not just go and buy another?" asked Sephiroth, puzzled. He would never fully understand humans.   
  
Jenova cells had been recovered from a lab that had been destroyed, and injected into his body. They had had another specimen at the time, a woman, who had been injected with cells from a Cetra that had been found, but she had disappeared. She had runaway, and the lab was unable to find her. They had found a different type of cell as well, but Sephiroth had not been able to find out what it was just yet. The girl's voice brought him back from his thoughts.  
  
"No! I don't have enough money for one! Besides, it was my mother's! She gave it to me before she died. I--WANT--IT--BACK!" She accented each word in the last sentence by giving Sephiroth a kick in the shins and any other place he could reach.   
  
"I wouldn't do that," he warned. "I am a trained SOLDIER, while you are but a twelve year old girl. Don't tempt me to use my sword. And I will use it."   
  
Tifa took a look at Masamune and wisely stopped. Cloud looked at him in awe.   
  
"Wow! A SOLDIER? I want to be one!" Cloud said, obviously amazed at the huge sword the man carried.   
  
"Come with me." Sephiroth dropped the girl's hand and swept off, Cloud following.   
  
"What about my Materia?" yelled Tifa, running to catch up. Sephiroth turned to look at her.   
  
"Is it red? Because if it is, it fell down your shirt." He turned away while Tifa blushed. "I suggest you go tell Cloud's mother where he is. He might not be back until late." Cloud followed Sephiroth, with a shrug at Tifa's questioning glance. He was going to be a SOLDIER!

"I told you!" he mouthed silently back to her, and winked.   
  
------------   
  
"Come, Aeris. We have to leave," Elmyra said, sweeping the ten-year-old girl along. Aeris did not question as to why; she already knew men were following them.

"Where are we going?" she asked, finishing her braid and tucking her green Materia inside the knot of her bow.   
  
"Midgar."  
  
"Is it a big city?"  
  
"Yes. We should be safe there. Bring only a few things."  
  
"Yes, mother!" she ran to the upstairs of their little cottage. She stuffed a few things, including her hairbrush, into the basket she had made, and went downstairs. She grabbed her stick that was beside the door. "I'm ready!"  
  
"Good. Quickly. Let's get some chocobos until we get to the next town. We can walk from there, but the town is far. Come on, and grab your jacket."  
  
--------------   
  
Vincent gave the other boy a cold glance. "I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, but there was five of them! Come one, Vincent! You couldn't handle all of those guys at once!"  
  
"Do you think I couldn't, Barret? Go away. I had my means."  
  
"What, the marble you have? That's not any &%! Materia, Vincent!"  
  
"How would you know?" Vincent Valentine challenged. "Have you ever used one?"  
  
Barret shifted uncomfortably. "Well, no, but..."

"Then shut up." He got up and grabbed his backpack.   
  
"Where are you going?" Barret asked, alarmed.   
  
"Somewhere that doesn't involve this place. I'm sick of it."  
  
"You're thirteen!"  
  
"And able to take care of myself. You're only fifteen. That's a year younger than Cid when he left. He only left four years ago. I should have gone with him then."  
  
"You would have been nine! Get a grip on yourself! You're acting like a &!£ maniac!"  
  
"Goodbye, Barret." Vincent swung the bag over his shoulder and left, leaving Barret gob smacked. "And that's a nasty habit you've picked up from Typ. Cut the swearing."  
  
"Like hell I will," muttered Barret later that night, remembering what his friend had said. "Like hell."  
  
-------------   
  
"What the--? Where'd my wallet go? I had over five hundred gil in that thing!"

Yuffie, now seven, stifled giggles as she walked up the street, leaving the stunned man behind. She was getting good at that. She walked past her favorite spot, the hidden ninja dojo that was off the street, and looked longingly through the cracks in the boards. She wanted to get her hands on those shurikens and throwing stars. Ah well. Not too long now. She would just have to wait until nightfall.   
  
------------   
  
"At least bring him with you if you're going to spend all your time at your company!"  
  
"Fine! I'll bring him." The President called his son down from his room where he had been with his private tutor. "Rufus, come with me."  
  
"Where to, Father?"  
  
"I am going to teach you how to run a company. Follow."

They boarded the helicopter he had waiting, and it took off into the sky.   
  
-------------   
  
"Blast! Stupid part!"  
  
"Cid, be patient. We'll get the new one soon. Come 'ere and let me teach you how to fly this thing..."  
  
------------------   
  
A/N: Well? What did you think? Other than the few changes I made in background, age, and some other things, I think I might have the story stick close to FF7. But then again, I might not. After all, all sorts of things can happen when you read a story on fanfiction.net…  
  
He he he! I'm not telling! Just read on...  
  
Lysaandi 


	3. Who Is The Puppet?

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7. Enough said.  
  
A/N: Someone said I hadn't covered Red XIII in a review. Red XIII fans do not worry, because I did. I gave you a hint in the last chapter. Something about _cells_ I believe. If you can get that, you know he will be here soon. Perhaps even mentioned in this chapter... Cough! _hint hint! _ Cough! Oh, this chapter is a bit shorter than the last one, because it"s still twelve years after and nothing much has quite happened after the last one. I promise to make the next chapter really long, however! Anyway! On with the fic!  
  
**Rotations Of Life  
Chapter 3:  
Who Is The Puppet?  
  
Still Twelve Years Later**  
  
"Bring me Specimen A.395."

"Sir! He"s training another SOLDIER, sir!"

"Very well. Bring the trainee as well. I need him now."

"Yes sir!"

Hojo readied his equipment, muttering under his breath to himself. "Open file... _No!_ Blasted keyboard..." He opened the file on specimen D.49.R, and read his notes.

'_Progress is sound... Specimen searches for ways to get out. Very intelligent; points towards signs of equal with humans. Words are beginning to form...'_

"What is it, Hojo? You know I do not like being interrupted. Especially while I am training..." Hojo turned to see Sephiroth finger Masamune, accompanied by a boy with blonde, spiky hair.

"My name's Cloud," the boy said. "Will this take long?" Cloud said somewhat irritably. 

"No," Hojo said, mentally adding, '_At least, not in the cosmic sort of sense...'_

"What do you want?" Sephiroth asked, his face smooth and expressionless.

"Just a shot. Nothing more..."  
  
  
  
"How do you feel?" Sephiroth asked Cloud, not out of sympathy, but wanting to know if he was able to begin his training again. 

".........." Cloud unconsciously touched the place where Hojo had placed the shot. He swayed slightly in place, and tried to keep his balance.

Sephiroth glanced at him. "Mako has a strange feel, does it not? Especially for the first shot..." His voice trailed off, and Cloud, fighting to stay awake, wondered what he was thinking about. 

"Do you even remember your first shot? I mean, your eyes are already lightened by it, so you must have had many before."

"No. I have-- always had them. You had better rest," he said, changing the subject."I will not be able to train you until tomorrow. Mako takes your strength at first." Sephiroth swept away, leaving Cloud to find his way to his room, stumbling with dizziness.

Sephiroth stood upon the balcony near the lab, thinking. It was a long fall, were anyone to go over the side, and many would be terrified by the sight.Not him. He was afraid of nothing. He did not understand this--_fear._ He did know people were frightened of him, and that most would do anything not to anger him.But he did not know what it was. 

Anger, rage, he knew well.Calm and satisfaction he knew also, those being his main emotions. He did not understand much of what humans talked about as feelings. Love, compassion, fear, anxiety; all of these were as alien to him as the people that swirled around in the city below him. Strange that they should set so much by these. 

He shook his head; none of those thoughts were worth his time. Finding what occupied Hojo's time was. He did know how to experience curiosity, and he was full of that emotion right now. He had been reading something about a specimen D.49.R, and Sephiroth suspected that used the cells he knew had been collected along with Jenova"s. Hojo had never known that Sephiroth had found out his password, a name, and never felt the need to change it.

Sephiroth glanced around the lab.No one was there.He settled himself at the computer and entered the password: _Lucrecia._ He had found the name on one of Hojo's files, and while awaiting a Mako shot had seen him type it in. He opened the file D.49.R and began to read.  
  
  
  
Cloud woke up the next morning with a small headache. His stomach growled, mortified at the idea that he could have possibly bothered to skip dinner. He hastily changed his clothing, realizing that he hadn't changed before collapsing on his bed, and left for the mess hall. He noticed in a mirror that was on the wall that his hair was even more spiky than usual, and in going to smooth it down somewhat, he saw something that startled him. His dark blue eyes were lighter than they had been the night before. 

'_How much Mako was in that shot, anyway? I thought it took at least three shots of normal doses to produce an effect...'_ he thought, and then the sight of food drove it out of his mind. He did not see Sephiroth anywhere, and assumed he must have already eaten. After all, he was slightly late for breakfast, and Sephiroth was down here as soon as it opened. Cloud envied his energy in the morning.

There wasn't a place to sit except on the end of a table, which had some Turks at it. They trained early as well. He sat down next to a boy of about his age with brown hair and tucked in. The boy rolled his eyes. 

"He eats almost as much as Barret did..." the boy muttered to himself.

Cloud swallowed. "Who's Barret?"

The boy realized he had spoken aloud and flushed slightly. "Oh, just a boy I used to know. He was very liable to pick up bad habits and steal any food from the kitchens that he could."

"Oh. So I eat as much as him?"

"Well... not _as _ much. I don't think anyone could eat as much as him." 

Cloud chuckled. "What's your name? I'm Cloud." He stuck out his hand.

The boy took it, warily. "Vincent. So you"re a SOLDIER?" 

"Yeah. I only got in a few months ago. Why'd you choose to be a Turk?" 

"I dunno. Something besides living in an orphanage." Cloud fell silent and finished eating.He said goodbye to Vincent and dumped his tray in the wash bin. He left quickly to find Sephiroth, eager to begin his training again.

But when he went to the practice ground where Sephiroth normally was, he was not there. Cloud looked about confused. Sephiroth almost never deviated from his schedule, because to do so would be, as he put it, 'Irregular, and I see no need for it.' He took another look just to be sure, but there was no flash of silver hair to be seen.

He decided to look around the lab where he had gotten the shot the day before. Perhaps Sephiroth was there. He rounded the corner to hear the man named Hojo shouting. He ducked behind the doorway to listen.

"What compelled you to look into my files? I created you! You are nothing! Most of what you are wouldn't exist without me!" 

"And that is to mean I cannot find things out about myself?" Cloud recognized Sephiroth"s cool voice. When he spoke like that, he had learned to shut up. But Hojo did not.

"Unless I make them known to you, you have no right! How did you guess my password?" 

"Simple. You do type slowly. And after all, her picture is in your desk, and in your files." 

"My desk--? You got into _ my desk? _ It's locked!" Cloud risked the chance of being seen to snatch a glimpse of Hojo's face. It was red with fury, and his mouth gaped open like a fish trying to breathe out of water.

"Not very well, I might add." Sephiroth looked perfect, as usual, with not a strand of his silver hair out of place. Cloud privately believed that he frightened his hair into staying like that, but he would never say it to his face.

"Out! Get out of my lab! Don't ever come in here without my permission! _Out !_" Hojo pointed a shaking finger towards the door, which Sephiroth looked at calmly, a sort of smile upon his face at seeing Cloud, who hurriedly hid his face.

"Do you really think you could force me anywhere?" He asked coolly, fingering his sword. 

Cloud could not see Hojo's face just then, but he could hear how his voice had become a deathly quiet whisper."I can make your life a living hell, Sephiroth. I may not match you in strength; no human can, but I can make it so you will wish to die before I'm done with you." 

"I think not." 

"Do you really?" Hojo's voice became colder than Sephiroth"s in that moment, something Cloud couldn't believe was possible. "Do not try my patience, _ Ancient._ I can do things you never dreamed of. Get out. I will not do them unless you force me." 

Sephiroth chuckled. "I will go, but not for you. Your display has amused me, but I am done with you for now. I do not want to pull your strings so tightly that you snap." 

He left the room with a swish of his black cloak, beckoning to Cloud, who followed him, wondering what had been in those files.  
  
  
  
Hojo looked after him in distaste. "What does my experiment think he is, the puppet master? I think not," he muttered to himself. "I think soon it will be time for him to find out who really does pull the strings in this show of life. Certainly not him."

He logged onto his computer, and, cursing, changed his password. He brought up the file of the runaway, and picked up his phone.

"Have you found any trace of them?" he asked when the man on the other side picked up.

"Yes, but they fled again." 

"Find them!" he snarled, and hung up. This day was, so far, one of his worst. He jumped slightly as the phone rang, almost as soon as he hung it up. 

"Yes?" he asked.

"The experiment has been a success. It is beginning to talk." 

"Good. I will be there shortly." Perhaps the day wasn't too bad, after all.  
  
  
  
Well? I hope you understood who the experiment was... I might have made some reference in the beginning.... So that's all for now! Oh, and Sephiroth fans, he might turn out to be a bit different then you think. Don't worry, I am not about to make him the good guy. It would make him lose his charm... :)  
  
Lysaandi 


	4. Meetings

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7 or related characters. 

I hope I didn't take too long putting this up. It took longer than I thought. . . I've been pretty busy. I'm thinking of some pairings in this story, but I'm not quite certain about them yet, so I don't want to announce any. Just keep in mind there might be some. Please enjoy!  
  
---  
**Rotations of Life:**

Chapter 4:

Meetings  
  
10 years later  
  
---  
"Here, Aeris." Elmyra handed her a purse full of gil and her basket of flowers. "Don't for get to stop by the store later." "I won't, Mother," Aeris promised with a smile, and walked away. Elmyra watched her daughter go, the long brown braid swinging as she walked. With a sigh, she gathered her own purse and her list of names. t was time to get to the bottom of those rumors she had heard. At least after she opened the shop, in any case.   
  
---  
  
The black and white cat looked around the place on his perch with an air of disdain. True, the great pink-white lummox he rode could probably clobber anyone if need be, but this was reputed to be a rough inn after about dinnertime, and it was almost that. And besides that, it was filthy, and the floor sticky, with what he didn't want to speculate about. A little girl approached him, dragging her mother along from the table she had been sitting at. 

"Mother, look at the giant stuffed toy that cat is sitting on! Can I have him?" It was more a demand than a question. 

"Stuffed toy?" he asked in annoyance. "My dear child, he is _not_ a" -- he sniffed -- "'stuffed toy.' I am Caitsith!"

The girl squealed and ran off, her harassed mother trailing along behind her. 

Caitsith sighed. It was going to be a long evening. Especially with some of the incredulous looks he was receiving from the tough men at the bar. Ah, well. They would learn, albeit the hard way.   
  
---  
  
"Look, Lockhart, are you damn sure about this? I don't want any &#$! screw-ups." Barret looked at the woman who stood there before him, arms akimbo. 

"Perfectly, Barret. It's quite a simple mission, too. We bust in, steal some weapons, and get out. We can't let Shinra have all the new weapons, or anything we try against them won't work!" Tifa looked very proud of herself over this. Barret stared at her in amazement. 

"You're &%! insane! It's not that simple! There're guards, and SOLDIERs, and security systems, and all sorts of shit! What the #%$ is wrong with you?" 

Tifa looked down for a moment, and re-adjusted her tight shirt. Barret tried to ignore that. It wasn't fair that she had to flaunt herself so. . . He snapped his mind back to the problem at hand. 

"Listen, Lockhart. It's a great plan, it just needs work. We need to work out all the details first. Besides, what the %#$ are they doing, anyway? They haven't provoked AVALANCHE for a bit, and I'll be damned if I'm going to waste any good men. Or women," he added hastily to that statement at her raised eyebrow. 

"Don't you care that people have been going missing all over Midgar? And with SOLDIERs swarming the city, doing all their raids, who knows when they could search here?" 

"Do you know for a fact it's the SOLDIERs and Shinra? Lockhart, we need to be sure it's them before we go rushing into that damned building!"

"That doesn't say anything about the weapons," Tifa said stubbornly. "I do know that they are making one, and experimenting things on people." 

"And you know this how?" Barret asked, looking at her piercingly. 

"I have my ways. . . Oh, all right."She had started to say the first in a mysterious manner, but at Barret's glare, she stopped. "I got a SOLDIER drunk and wrangled it out of him." 

Barret laughed. "Well, there's no denying you've got spunk, kid." He turned away, and added softly, "Too much of it. . ." 

"What was that?" Tifa demanded. 

"Nothing. . ."   
  
---  
  
Aeris poked her head into the shop, confused. "Mother?" 

There was no answer. The shop was still, Aeris' footsteps the only noise. "Mother?" she asked again, worried.She walked into the back of the shop, and stifled a scream. The back, which her mother kept spotless, was a mess. Fruits and all sorts of things she sold were scattered everywhere, papers torn. There was mud and some other substance on the floor. Aeris bent down to see, and drew back almost immediately, feeling sick. 

Blood. 

"Mother. . .." Aeris picked up her basket and ran home, hoping against hope her mother was there. 

She opened the door to find the house in disarray, and no one there either.She fell to her knees, feeling hysterical. 

"Aeris?" 

She turned to see her neighbor, Junko, standing cautiously near the doorway. 

"Your mother gave me this at about noon. She said to give it to you. She looked worried. Do you know what happened here?" 

"No." Aeris took the letter from Junko's hand and took one last look at the apartment. "But I think I have a clue. Thank you for the letter." 

Aeris put it carefully in her basket along with her purse, and walked away. She went to the one place she had not told her mother of. An abandoned church, hardly used in the slums district except for one-night lodgings. 

Once there, she sat on the stone floor near the altar and began to read. 

'_Aeris,_

I have heard that the men are here, searching for us.I hope the do not find this, or you, but I cannot be certain. Do not be afraid, but I have something important to tell you. They are the Turks and the SOLDIERs, and they are searching for me because I ran away. Away from what, I am still reluctant to tell you, but I know I must. 

I was used as an experiment, in the lab of a man named Hojo. He injected me with cells, of a Cetra. What exactly that is I am not quite sure, but I was awakened to the Planet's pain. I fell in love with a SOLDIER, and he helped me to escape, but after you were born, he was found and killed. 

This is for you. The Materia should help you. Stay away from SOLDIERs and the Turks, who wear blue. Remember, the SOLDIERs all have had Mako shots, so look to the eyes.

I love you. 

Elmyra'   
  
She picked up the green-white Materia and looked at it. She now had no doubts as to what happened to her mother. The Turks had found her. She tied the Materia into her pink bow, and began to gather her things.   
  
---  
  
"What is the meaning of this?" Sephiroth asked patiently to the guards who blocked the doorway. 

"You are to come with us." 

"And if I do not wish to come?" 

The guards shifted slightly. The one in charge met his gaze. "We have to force you." 

"Do you really think you can stop me?" He asked, amused. He fingered his great sword. 

"Yes." The man said this in a slightly confident voice, as if hoping all the guard they had would be able to stop the strong general. 

Cloud looked on in horror as Sephiroth unsheathed his blade. Apparently these men did not know about his strength, or if they did, thought they could over-power him. They drew their swords as well, and Cloud heard movement behind him. 

"They've surrounded us," he said quietly to Sephiroth. 

"Then they will die." 

Cloud nodded, reluctantly. He only just managed to get his sword out before Sephiroth started on the second man. The first fell to the ground without a sound. 

"He's getting away!" "Get him!""Get reinforcements!" came the cries of the unfortunate men. 

Cloud and Sephiroth made quick work of them, save for the few men who went running. Sephiroth turned to go, then stopped Cloud as he made to follow. 

"It might be best if you did not come with me," Sephiroth said coolly. "You will do much better on your own." 

Cloud opened his mouth to protest, and then shut it at Sephiroth's frosty gaze. He nodded, slowly, and started off in another direction. 

"And Cloud," came his voice, "I do believe that you are not a SOLDIER anymore." 

And he was gone.   
  
---  
  
"You _what?_" Hojo screamed at the SOLDIER, spittle flying everywhere. 

"We--we couldn't stop them! They killed almost all of us!" The SOLDIER gulped out, trying to look anywhere but at Hojo. 

"Find them! Now! And if you make anymore mistakes. . ." Hojo slid a finger across his throat. The SOLDIER stared at him. "I said now!" The SOLDIER ran. 

Sinking heavily into his chair, Hojo glared at everything in sight. His prize experiments, gone! He wanted to throw something, but didn't; everything in his room was important. He settled instead for writing a furious memo and delivering it into the hands of his secretary. 

Logging into his computer, he was about to start reviewing all his notes when the phone rang. 

"Yes?" 

"We've found her. Only the mother; the girl was out somewhere, and she refuses to speak with us." 

_'Finally!'_ Hojo thought. "I'll be right down. Where are you?" 

"Lab 3." 

"Secure the area and make sure no one comes near. I'll be right there." 

Perhaps his plans weren't so bad after all.   
  
---  
  
"Rufus, pay attention!" 

The Vice-President of Shinra reluctantly looked over at his father, startled out of his thoughts. "Sorry Father." 

"Good. Now, we have had reports about a new source of energy, and our scientists are working to find it. After all, we might just run out of Mako sooner or later, but I doubt it. We need to harvest this new source and monopolize it. Think of all the millions we can make!" 

Rufus nodded, not showing any of his thoughts. Yes, he would find the source, and then take over the company. His father was really getting too old for this sort of thing. 

"Excuse me, Father. I have some business to attend to." 

The President of Shinra nodded, and Rufus walked to the door. Upon leaving, he made his way to the lab. He would be powerful, more powerful than Sephiroth. Hojo had promised him. He would take over the world. With his plans in motion, it would be his for the taking. 

All he needed was Sephiroth and the Ancient. That was all. He rubbed his hands with glee as he thought of his new title: Rufus, Lord and Master. He walked on, his head full of plans and dreams.   
  
---  
  
Tifa was in deep trouble, and she knew it. Barret had specifically forbidden her from trying any of her plans without his permission, but she had already broken the promise she had made. More than broken;shattered it into a million pieces was more like it. She quickly hid behind the pillar as SOLDIERs walked by, knowing that if she was caught, no one would know where she was. She was alone. 

She felt a tap on her shoulder and jumped, whirling around as fast as she could, punching out at whoever was there. Her fists caught the man in the middle, and he fell backwards onto the floor with an audible _whump! _ The blonde man shook his head dizzily, then jumped up to grab her should as she tried to run. 

Tifa gasped. 

"That's not much of a way to greet a childhood friend now, is it?" Cloud asked her, rubbing his stomach. 

"No. . ." she said weakly. 

"What exactly are you doing here?" 

"Nothing," she lied, trying to twist out of his grip. 

"Am I supposed to believe that? Come on, Tifa, even as kids you didn't do anything without a reason." 

"I was--spying." 

"On who? SOLDIER?" 

She shifted uncomfortably. "Yes. . ." 

"You don't have to worry; I'm not going to turn you in. I'm not exactly a SOLDIER anymore." 

"What happened?" 

They turned at the shout that came behind them. A group of SOLDIERs were running towards them. "Later!" Cloud said and took off, Tifa following him. 

"Let's split up!" she panted as they reached the outside. 

"Right!" 

"Meet you at the slums, Sector 7! At the inn!" 

She didn't know if he replied or not, because more shouting came, and she put all her attention into running through the back alleyways she knew.   
  
---  
  
Cloud was lost. He hated to admit it, but he had never actually explored the town of Midgar. He did know where the slums were, so he headed in their general direction. Leaping on top of a car, he jumped to the top of the roof of the house near by, which was low to the ground. He ran swiftly atop the roofs of the houses, looking around to see where the inn might be. 

He was looking so intently, he didn't see the small hole in front of him. His foot caught, and he went smashing into the roof and into the floor below. 

Dusting himself off, since it wasn't that much of a fall, he heard a voice behind him. 

"Who are you?"  
  
---  
  
Aeris hadn't been in the church long when she heard a noise from above her. Looking up, she saw a man crash through the roof and land in front of her on the ground. For a moment she hovered between uncertainty of helping him or running, but when she saw him pick himself up, the first question was answered. 

"Who are you?" she asked. "I haven't met many who go jumping through roofs for fun." 

"I didn't exactly do it on purpose," he said, turning around. Then she saw his eyes. 

"You're a SOLDIER!" she cried, and ran, scooping up her basket as she went. A strong hand caught her arm. 

"Let me go!" she yelled, spitting in his face. He blinked in surprise, but didn't let go. Instead, he wiped it off calmly with his free arm and stared at her. 

"Why should me being a SOLDIER have anything to do with anything? Besides, I'm an ex-SOLDIER.You can trust me." 

Aeris bit her lip, unsure if she should tell him. Just then, five men burst in from the entrance, wearing blue. 

"You! Girl! Come with us!" 

Aeris looked Cloud in the eye, and whispered, "I'm going to trust you now. Be my bodyguard, and help me get away from those men." 

"Girl!" the leader barked sharply. "We won't wait much longer!" 

"I'll go on a date with you. As payment," Aeris said desperately, looking worriedly over Cloud's shoulder at the five Turks. 

"Done." Cloud turned to the Turks. "Sorry guys, this girl's taken." 

"Listen, you! Do you know who you're talking to?" The leader puffed himself up in the chest, swelling with haughtiness and pride. 

"Yeah. Some guys with a bad attitude who are trying to take my girlfriend. Get lost." Cloud looked back at Aeris, and winked. "I'm Cloud, by the way," he whispered softly. 

"Aeris," she whispered back. 

"Turks! We are Turks! You foolish boy, hand her over! Now!" The leader's eyes looked about ready to pop out of his head, and his face was purple with rage. 

"Run!" Cloud yelled, grabbing Aeris' hand and running the opposite direction of the Turks. 

"Is there a way out this way?" he asked her as they ran. 

"I don't know. There'd better be." 

The pair ran inside an open door and slammed it shut. Cloud pushed the rotten chairs and table up against it, his eyes searching the room as he did so. 

"There! There's a door behind that curtain."Aeris pointed, and Cloud grabbed her hand again, going through and closing the door behind them. 

"There's the exit," he said quietly. "Come on." 

Out on the street, the two ran into the crowd of people, where they slowed slightly, knowing the Turks would have trouble finding them in the swirled mass of people. 

"Do you have a place to go?" he asked her. 

"No." 

"Oh. Well, I do, but I don't know where it is." 

Aeris stared at him. "How can you not?" 

"I'm not from around here. Do you know where the inn is?" 

"Yes. Follow me." 

She led him through the streets until they arrived at the inn. Aeris looked at her basket in despair. More than half of the flowers were gone, and almost all of the rest were ruined. At least the gil purse was still there. Cloud opened the door to the inn, holding it for her. She walked inside, but not too far, waiting for Cloud. 

"I wonder where Tifa is," he said quietly. 

"Who's she?" Aeris asked curiously. 

"A friend." 

"Let's ask that man over there." Aeris walked over to a particularly large man who looked as if he ate nails for breakfast. 

"Excuse me," she asked sweetly. He turned his head towards her. "Do you know where we can find a woman named Tifa?" 

He looked at her, startled. "What do you want with her?" 

"We're friends," she said quickly before Cloud could speak; he had a scowl on his face. 

"Cloud!" came a call from the stairway. A woman with long brown hair and a too short skirt and shirt for Aeris' liking stood there. "I was wondering when you'd get here!" She looked at the dust covering the two of them and asked, "Who's this?" 

"I'm Aeris. Aeris Gainsborough. Cloud helped me out of a nasty situation." 

"I see," she said coolly.   
  
---  
  
Cloud saw the sparks flying in Tifa's eyes as she said that, and groaned inwardly. He quickly stepped in. "So, Tifa, why were you in Shinra's Headquarters anyway?" 

"What?" roared the man Aeris had asked. "_Tifa. . ." _he growled warningly. 

"Uh oh."   
  
---  
  
Well? What did you think? Was it worth the wait? I'm very sorry it took so long, but I was in the process of visiting friends and destroying Sin in FFX. But it's longer than I usually write, so that should make up for it. Pretty cool. Anyway, please review!   
  
Lysaandi 


End file.
